Productive Sock Saturday

This past weekend I was in Rosemary for a craft weekend and I'm happy to say it was productive! I started out making these sock monsters as gifts, but when I ended up having to hand-stitch the green one and it kept looking more and more adorable, I decided that I must keep him! We've named him Desmond. He'll be one of Otto's Christmas presents.











I love how ridiculously small the wings are on the huge yellow one.


















I'm thinking of making more to sell at a show in Lethbridge, where my sister-in-law will be selling tag quilts.

And another!

I'm on a roll! I'm so excited to be scrapbooking again!

This one is not really my usual style - it's a bit busy. The journalling reads:
"You don't cry like most babies do, Otto. Nope. Whenever you fuss you make these cute little squawks which sound like a baby pterodactyl."

Back in the Swing of things

After being sick for so so so long (I thought I would never be better, and indeed, I'm still hacking up my lungs every few minutes or so, but I'm hoping that will end soon too) I was excited to get scrapbooking again.

Otto had so many different expressions, as babies do, but this "o" one was one of my favorites, and I just had to scrapbook it.

I wanted to share this one too - I did it just before I got sick. The journaling is about how great Grandpa Lilburn is and how Otto and he will be great friends.

Two Minis

I recently made two mini albums. The first is Otto's Birth Day album, the second is the Thank you album I made for the midwives. This album is bound, with pockets and a personal note of thanks to each midwife. Each pocket has an insert which the midwives can keep for their own. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Starting Early

I think Andy is trying to get Otto started early in enjoying the great discoveries and workings of cars and machines. Andy drove Paul's Monster Beetle home for lunch and we took a few pictures of Otto with it.

The Coolest Thing

I've never seen anything like this! It is pretty amazing! Check it out.
Check out her other work as well. Wow.

Top 10 Wishes

I'm list-lifting this idea from my friend Haley's blog because I think it's good to have a wish!

1. I often wish for more time. If only sleeping and eating were optional because we just felt like it, we'd have 24 usable hours in a day. Think of all that we could accomplish! Now, don't get me wrong, I love food and a good nap, but if we could just do so when we wanted to, like if we had some extra time....
2. I'm with Haley on this one: I wish winter weather only existed through the months of December and January. But, maybe not all of January because I'm sick of having cold weather on my birthday. But let's just wish further than that: I wish spring could be for everywhere like it is on Vancouver Island - fluffy white and pink cherry blossoms, magnolia blooms, flowers everywhere, and greenery would last all through the year! Summer would be the majority of the year, but not too too hot. And fall would last a few weeks and be like Eastern Canada, with all the lovely maple and oak trees turning magnificent colors.
3. I wish yard and house work would magically do themselves. 'Nuff said.
4. I wish I could go hiking every weekend, and climbing once a week.
5. I wish I could get all of my closest friends and family together and live in a co-housing community like my friend Annie's. We'd have house concerts and house potlucks ALL the time!
6. Speaking of concerts, I wish that I could go to any and all concerts I desire. I really miss going to classical music concerts with my classical music friends, jazz concerts and gigs, and I lament the fact that I didn't go to Folk Fest this year.
7. I wish that I could do all the musical things I desired, such as pick up the Foothills Girls Choir again, and learn a bunch of new piano pieces this year. I would also love to learn to play the guitar. This wish would work if only we could have wish #1.
8. I wish that when we looked at older people, we could see their life story in front of us. They would receive more respect and admiration from us than they get now. I suppose that could go for regular people we meet or know as well. It would certainly eliminate all sorts of judgements.
9. I wish we could travel like they did on Star Trek. I'm not even sure how that was, but I know it was super FAST. We could travel all over the world in seconds.
10. Lastly, I wish I were asleep in my bed instead of staying up to write on my blog. Sometimes I just want to kick myself in the pants for not going to sleep when I should!11. I lied, here's one last one. I SO wish that babies (especially mine) didn't spit up so much! Andy caught this one of Otto WHILE we were doing our family pictures. We took his bib off for only a few minutes and of course, he spits up. It never fails.

Thanks Haley for the idea!

This and This

Seeing lots of these two things these days: smiles, and hands in the mouth.

Congratulations to my PBF, Kacey, on the safe arrival of her 4th, Miss Sloane Browning!

2009 Family Portrait and a 90th Birthday!

So this weekend was a busy one! Scrappin' with the sisters-in-law on Friday, Assiya's wedding on Saturday morning/afternoon then Grandma's 90th Birthday on Saturday evening. Then more family get-togethers on Sunday.

I made the slide-show for Grandma's birthday and it was amazing to go through all the pictures of her life, right from 1919 until now. What a full life! We love you Grandma!



Andy drew this little portrait when he was supposed to be listening to the Sunday School lesson, but everyone passed it around and had a good laugh. See if you can identify all our family members!


We took our own family pictures on Saturday. I would pity any photographer who would try to do our portraits for us, it's always such a gong show! The last picture is my Grandma with her 6 great-grankids!

Laughing Out Loud

Otto's been smiling and cooing for awhile now, and he has this cute little sigh-laugh - it's the cutest when he does it in his sleep. But last night, he full-on laughed out loud and it was the greatest thing! Andy and I just sat there laughing along with him. And to our delight, he did it again tonight! Our boy is so fun!
Unfortunately, we didn't catch his full-out laugh on film, but here's one of his adorable smile!

Our Newest Addition

Welcome to the world, Paisley Louise Lilburn! Born July 24. 6lbs 1 oz.
Congratulations Karley, Irish, and Marshall!

One month already?!

Actually, it's been a nearly a month and a half since Otto was born! And in a month, here's what has happened:

• Andy had two weeks off of work when Otto was born and brought me breakfast in bed every single day.

• Otto lost a bit of weight and we were worried when he kept it off for far too long. We had to figure things out with the feedings, but we're working it out and he's finally gaining weight. A few weeks ago, he was in the 10th percentile, but this week, he's in the 25th percentile, so we're making quick progress.

• I've learned I can't get enough of his cute faces. He has so many different expressions already. The little round "0" mouth gets me every time.

• One of my favorite things is watching Otto sleep. He is absolutely adorable.

• I've learned to live with messes around the house for awhile because there are more important things in life. Namely, cuddling with Otto, feeding Otto, changing Otto, staring at his cute cute face, and cuddling some more.

• We've learned that Otto will usually become more calm when Andy or I simply hold his hand.

• Family camping with a five-week-old is kinda fun - everyone wanted turns holding Otto, so he was cuddled and spoiled the entire weekend. Love it! We brought the laundry basket with us, and some people thought we had brought our laundry with us until they realized it was Otto in there!

Meeting Family

I have finally gotten around to upload some pictures from the last little while and thought I'd share. I think my favorite is of Otto meeting his two boy cousins (on my side) for the first time. Marshall and Iarnan just adored him! I know Natalie, Alyssa, and Shantelle were just as excited to see him.

I actually felt up for a long walk last week (the day before I got really sick), so we bundled Otto into his wrap and off we went. It was a really nice walk and he slept peacefully the entire time. In fact, the wrap works so well that I have Otto in it right now, just so I can get a few things done without him fussing - he so loves to be cuddled and held.

An Eventful Week

Well now, Otto is two weeks old now, and last week was a busy one for him. Last Tuesday, on the same day (crazy us) we had family and newborn photos done, then we went to get him the big "C". What a tiring day! Then Friday I ended up getting really sick and was sick for several days. I'm feeling better today, but Otto has been fussy. I hope he doesn't get sick.

Anyway, that's what's been happening with us. Andy is still Mr. Wonderful in our books: taking care of us daily, including coming home at lunch time just to make me lunch, and taking Otto when I need to rest. My Mom has been giving her share of time and cooking as well, so Thank you Mom!

Here's the link to the photographer's blog, where she has posted more photos from our session last week:

http://mikophotogaphy.blogspot.com/

Introducing Otto Rowan Court

Otto was born Sunday, May 24th at 2:18pm, weighing in at 7lbs 10oz. He was welcomed into the world by his parents, Andy and Kaly, one of his wonderful midwives, Jane, and a slew of nurses, doctors and anesthesiologist. Yep, we ended up having an emergency C-Section at the Rockeyview in Calgary. Long story. But in the end, we're just really glad that both Otto and Mama are healthy and well.

Otto is a happy little guy, very content. His cry sounds like a wee pterodactyl, and he does these cute little bird squawks. He makes so many faces already, and when he's awake, looks straight at us with alert eyes! He's perfect.


We arrived home today and we're resting and adjusting to life outside of the hospital! Thank you for your prayers and thank you to all those who have helped so much already!